Dangerous Love
by Faramir Fancier
Summary: A 7th year Slytherin girl tries to find acceptance with Sirius Black. She also tries to find romance, too.


DISCLAIMER: The characters, well most of them, belong to Mrs. J.K. Rowling. The story, however, is mine and may not be reproduced without my consent. ********************************************************************  
  
I was always the odd one out. The only one of my friends in Slytherin, the only parselmouth among them, and the only one without a boyfriend. Lily Evans, well, she was little miss popular, dating James Potter. Summer Greenly, she was dating Remus Lupin. And Sandra Gades, well she was dating Amos Diggory. No one liked me, I had black hair, icy blue eyes, and was tall and pale, also very thin. In other words, a freak. Lupin, however, knew how it felt, but was afraid to warm up to me in case Summer thought I was trying to steal her boyfriend. No, Remus, though charming as he was, was not my idea of a boyfriend. He was quiet, and while others may like that, it was never my type of style. For many years since our 4th year, my center of attention was Sirius Black.  
  
In our 7th year, the toughest of all, my friends, so-called as they were, stopped talking to me. Again I was alone. They say that I developed the Unforgivable Curses because I was evil at heart. They say I made them because I was depressed. In truth, I didn't make them. I looked them up in the book Medieval Curses: Olde ways to Curse your foes. This was before they became illegal, before Voldemort publicly used them. Sometimes, I used them on myself, because the feeling was good and it made me forget the pain. But I had to stop, I was nearly caught once. I used cover-up to hide the bruises, because I bruised easily and it showed up dark. One day, I decided to stop. As I sulked down to the library, I ran into someone.  
  
"Watch where you're going, Slytherin!"  
  
The person grabbed my arm tight, so tight so I couldn't get away.  
  
"Cassandra?" Sirius's voice was stunned.  
  
"Let me go." I defiantly said.  
  
"Why?" he said, a smile spreading across his lips.  
  
I yanked my arm away and kicked him, a move he didn't expect. When he tried to follow me, I pulled out my wand.  
  
"Don't make me use it. I don't want to." He looked taken aback. I brushed past him and into the library.  
  
When I entered the library, I looked down at my arm holding the book. The red marks from where he gripped my arm were still visible, probably would be for an hour. I put the book on the desk and looked around. Somehow, the smell of the place calmed me down. I had missed my chance to talk to Sirius; he was only the guy I'd been crushing on for 3 years! I was so mad at myself. I turned to go, and bumped into James Potter with a book, How to be an Animagi: The how's and why's and transforming. I looked at his book and he shifted to cover the title.  
  
"Oh, Cassandra! How nice!" James said, shakily as if he had just emerged from a car crash, unsure of himself. " Well, be seeing you then!" He said, giving me a cheerful smile.  
  
I walked out of there as fast as I could and broke my promise to not use the Ungorgivibles and used the Imperious curse on myself one last time.  
  
The next day I stayed in my bed. I was too weak to get up. It seemed that if you used the Imperious Curse a lot and then stopped, you were to drained to move, almost paralyzed. At around 9:30, Professor Linrik came in.  
  
"Dear! What are all these bruises!?" She asked, concerned.  
  
"Oh, I fell out of bed." I lied.  
  
She helped me out of bed, and I very nearly collapsed. We slowly walked up the stairs, and then Professor Linrik had to go to class. She called over a student to help me, and who was it but Sirius Black.  
  
"Mr. Black, please help Ms. Priam to the hospital wing." She said, bustling off to class.  
  
"My God, Cassandra! What have you done to yourself?"  
  
I had been using the imperious curse to send myself into tables, and the bruises were still there to prove it. My black eye stood out like I had applied way too much eye shadow, and there were bruises all over my arms.  
  
"I had a fight with Malfoy, ok?!" I lied again.  
  
"Well, you really should stop." He said, a slight smirk playing across his features. Who was he to tell me to stop!? Well, his black eye was just fading from a fight he had just had with Snape.  
  
"Look. You seem to be ok and fine walking now, how bout I leave you here?" He concernedly asked.  
  
"Fine." I snapped, impatient with the delay. He looked shocked at impudent outburst.  
  
"Bye, then." He calmly said. Instead of going to the hospital wing, I walked out to the grounds. Later, as I entered the entrance hall, I was already feeling better.  
  
I plodded up the stairs and sulked into the Great Hall. Black shot me an urgent look, one I couldn't read. I was good at deciphering looks, but this one was a mix of urgency and playfulness. Dinner was good, except for Lucious Malfoy talking about his Quidditch game, as if I cared. Dinner ended and I was about to go to the grounds for a ceremony along with everyone else, when Sirius caught up with me.  
  
"Hey! Can I talk to you?" he unsurely asked.  
  
"Um, sure." I replied, wanting to go to the grounds with everyone else.  
  
We walked away from the grounds, towards the Gryffindor common room. I saw Black's hand make a movement like he wanted to take mine, then seemed to think better of it and jerked it back into his pocket.  
  
"So, what's new?" He asked.  
  
"Nothing," I said as we entered the common room.  
  
"I don't I should be here," I said, not wanting to get in trouble.  
  
"No sweat. We'll be out before anyone comes."  
  
His attitude was so careless; I just had to believe him.  
  
"Why did you bring me here, now?" I said asked, knowing why but not fully.  
  
"Haven't you guessed?" he said. Of course I knew why.  
  
"All these years, Cassandra, I was too scared to say it." I knew what was coming, I had seen it before, but was I ready? All those years I longed for it? Well, I guessed if I could master a curse so advanced a fully-grown wizard might not be able to, I was ready for this.  
  
"Cassandra, I like you." He bravely stated to the world. And then, he kissed me. I guess he wasn't all experienced with that, but it was ok, it was bliss. I closed my arms around his back as if in embrace, and we fell back together onto the couch. I felt as if we were one person, and I inhaled his smell, a mix of chalk, sugar, and, very faintly, dungbombs.  
  
I don't know how long I was there. An hour? A minute? I woke up with my head resting on his shoulder, his arm around my shoulder, protecting me, holding me close to his warm body, so I could feel his breathing, uneven and fast. I slowly sat up. He was still sleeping. How long were we asleep? I gently ran my fingers through his hair, ever so gently. He grabbed my arm on instinct.  
  
"It's ok. It's just me." I soothed.  
  
"Cassandra?" he groggily said. "What happened? Why are we here?"  
  
"We fell asleep here. On this couch." I reminded him.  
  
"Oh, yeah. That was lousy. The way I told you I like you, I mean. What a way to say it!" he apologized.  
  
"It's ok." I said I whispered, my mouth close to his ear, my lips grazing his cheek.  
  
"I better go. I shouldn't even be here." I got up and walked towards the portrait hole when I heard footsteps.  
  
"Hide!" he said. I slipped into a crevice between the portrait and the wall.  
  
"Fix your tie." I mouthed; it had become untied and disheveled. He did that and fixed the cushions on the couch.  
  
"Hey Sirius!" James Potter entered.  
  
"Hi." Sirius shakily said.  
  
"Well, see you in the dorm." James exited, and Sirius came over to me.  
  
"You'd better go. I'll go first incase someone else is coming this way." He exited, and then signaled it was ok for me to come too. We snuck down the stairwells, and ducked behind a statue.  
  
"I leave you here." He said. We shared one quick, passionate kiss, our lips wanting to stay that way forever, our minds knowing we couldn't.  
  
"Bye," I said.  
  
"Bye," he responded. I turned to leave, but he called out.  
  
"Wait! I forgot to ask. Next Hogsmeade weekend?" he asked.  
  
"Sure."  
  
His hand reached out and longingly touched my cheek. I held it there for 2 seconds, then moved it away. As I walked away, I had to resist the urge to run back to him, I knew he'd be there. I had plunged so deeply into the pool of love, I was in danger of drowning.  
  
All that week I was happy with my good luck of finding a boyfriend. Some Slytherins noticed the change from a depressed, sad, morbid girl to a happy, exuberant girl. "Why are you so cheery?" They'd ask. Unfortunately, Lucius Malfoy was still breathing down my neck until I pointed out Narcissa Endlen, a girl who looked like his type. Finally, the Hogsmeade weekend I was looking forward to came. I got in the line with all the other kids and handed my permission slip to Mr. Jarnal, the caretaker of the day. I walked out into the bitter cold wind and sat down on a bench waiting for Sirius. I saw him run down the steps, late as usual.  
  
"Sorry. Erm, where do you want to go?" he asked.  
  
"Um, want to get some tea?" I suggested.  
  
"Sure. Tea it is." We headed off in the direction of the teashop. He reached for my hand and I willingly put mine out so we were holding hands.  
  
We strolled down the main street looking for the teashop. We entered, and the stifling smell of tea filled out noses. We got a table in the back and sat down.  
  
"Well, dears?" A plump witch came over our way asking for out order.  
  
"Two cups, please." I said. She bustled away to get the tea. Almost immediately she came back, two steaming cups of tea in hand. I put my hand out on top of the table and Sirius's hand covered it.  
  
"Dear, you know that no matter what anyone says I won't stop liking you?" The question took me by surprise.  
  
"Yes, why?" I replied. He leaned in and kissed me, as if to seal the question, saying it was over, that he was sure he liked me. That got things started and he started to move his chair closer to me, but it wouldn't do in here.  
  
"Stop! Not now, not here." I reprimanded. We were just about to leave when we were done paying when Sirius's eyes widened.  
  
"Don't..turn..around." he faintly said. I nodded. The footsteps that had come on through the door were headed our way and I froze.  
  
"Sirius! There you are!" I knew that voice too well.  
  
"James!" Sirius's unstable voice was about to give away that something was wrong.  
  
"Mind if we sit down?" Remus Lupin's voice was tired sounding. The scraping of chairs filled the air.  
  
"See you brought your date!" James said cheerfully.  
  
"Well, who's the lucky girl?" James teasingly asked. He looked my way and it was all over.  
  
"Sirius? You're not serious are you? You can't be dating her! She's in Slytherin, for God's sake! Is this a joke?" James was shocked.  
  
"Not a joke, James." Sirius said calmly.  
  
"But, but she's in Slytherin!" James stuttered.  
  
"And that matters?! Come on, dear, we should be going." Sirius was angry now. He grabbed my hand and yanked me out of the seat. I had to run to catch up with him.  
  
"How dare they? How dare they tell me whom I can date!" he ranted, mad at his friends.  
  
"Dear, calm down!" I said, concerned.  
  
"Let's sit down." I suggested. We sat down, a light snow falling. He moved closer to me and put his arm around my shoulder. I fell back onto the ground, staring up into space.  
  
"What's wrong?" Sirius asked, concerned.  
  
"Nothing." I muttered.  
  
"Are you all right?" He said.  
  
"No. Not really" I replied. I yawned, tired from the teahouse incident, and he hugged me and I fell asleep in his arms, the world going dark.  
  
"Sirius? Sirius?" I asked, waking up. I saw that he was sleeping, too.  
  
"Mmhm?" he asked, his powerful, strong legs tangled in mine.  
  
"We'd better go." I concernedly said, seeing as how the sky was getting dark, a faint red glow around the clouds. I got up and helped him up, too. When we had gotten up to the castle, groups of students were excitedly whispering. Sirius went behind one and cuffed him on head.  
  
"Yeah, and what are you going to do about it?" He menacingly growled.  
  
He walked over to James and said, "Well, it looks as though you have told my romantic life to the whole school." James looked aghast and said,  
  
"Sirius! I swear it wasn't me! I didn't tell anyone!" Sirius grabbed his shirt collar and spoke to him in a low, severe voice.  
  
"Well if it wasn't you who was it?" he asked, very quietly.  
  
"I don't know! Ask Lupin!" Sirius turned on Lupin.  
  
"Was it you?" he growled.  
  
"Sirius, you know I'd never do something like that!" Lupin remarked.  
  
"That means...." Turning to his final friend, Peter Petigrew, he said,  
  
"I knew you were untrustworthy! I knew that being your friend would be trouble! And how do you thank me for my hospitality? With this??" Sirius yelled at Peter, who was scared and backed down.  
  
"Sirius! Sirius, I did nothing!" he squeaked, quaking.  
  
"That's a lie!" Sirius muttered, very quietly and faintly.  
  
"Gentlemen! GENTLEMEN!!" Professor Dippet, headmaster called.  
  
"What is the meaning of this? Mr. Black, I should have known. But you, Peter? Why, I am shocked! The both of you will serve detention, tonight. In the trophy room, and be there at 7:30, sharp." The Headmaster walked away to speak to the head of house for their punishment.  
  
"Well. Hope you're happy. You got an innocent man charged with something he didn't do. Worm." He turned away.  
  
"Come on, Cassandra, dear, let's go." Sirius started to go, and I ran to catch up to him.  
  
By the next morning, the story of me and Sirius dating had spread through the school. Sirius was busy telling people off for their closed-mindedness. There were whispers wherever I went, but I honestly didn't care. We were, of course, still dating, but we saw each other less often. Sirius was in detention more often, I don't know what for. We still met on Hogsmeade weekends, and we still saw each other in classes. We also met on the Grounds. Then, we graduated.  
  
There was a small time when we dated regularly, and then I went to Lily and James's wedding, where Sirius was the best man. When he became the Secret- Keeper for the Potters, I stopped seeing him. I lost all trace of him for 2 years, in which amount of time I had moved to Scotland to become a writer, having had 3 unsuccessful jobs in the Ministry.  
  
When word finally reached me that Sirius was in Azkaban, I immediately went to visit him. He looked somewhat paler, thinner, and grungier then when I had dated him. Of course, we still had a thing for each other, and whenever we could, we shared brief moments that expressed our feelings, a quick hug, kiss, whatever we could get away with, him being in high-security. Then I heard he escaped, and secretly hoped he'd try to find me. Maybe he still had a chance.  
  
They all said that we were crazy for our dating. They said that we were mad and there would be no happy end for us. Well, they were wrong. That year was the best of my life. That was the year I'd always remember, not from the scars I got from the use of the Imperius curse on myself, not because I was finally accepted, however little I was, but because I had met, dated and fallen in love with the nicest, most caring wizard I could hope for, Sirius Black. 


End file.
